Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy

Enforcement is considered to be the actions that are taken to achieve compliance with a statutory requirement.

The Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy sets out the enforcement procedures that will be used to achieve statutory housing and environmental standards. It sets out what owners, landlords, their agents and tenants of private sector properties can expect from Council Officers.

Anyone likely to be subject to formal enforcement action will receive a clear explanation of what they need to do to comply and will be given an opportunity to resolve issues before enforcement action is taken. Our aim is to encourage cooperation between the Council and property owners to help keep homes in good repair.

The Council expects landlords to support their tenancies throughout any enforcement action and if the tenant leaves the property, enforcement action will continue until the property is brought up to a satisfactory condition.

The Enforcement Policy promotes efficient and effective approaches to regulatory inspection and enforcement to improve regulatory outcomes without imposing unnecessary burdens. This is in accordance with the Regulator’s Compliance Code. In certain instances, we may conclude that a provision in the code is either not relevant or is outweighed by another provision. We will ensure that any decision to depart from the Code will be properly reasoned, based on material evidence and documented.

Click here to download the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy.